New Dredd trailer featuring Karl Urban as comic book lawman praised on Twitter

The first full trailer for Dredd – featuring Karl Urban as the comic book lawman – has been released, offering a look at the film’s high-octane action and effects.

Karl Urban takes on the role of Judge Dredd in the latest attempt to bring the comic book character to the screen (Picture: Lionsgate/YouTube)

The two minute clip follows a 10-second teaser which was previously released by Lionsgate and which showed the 2000AD comic book stalwart taking on some bad guys in a gun battle.

However, the longer preview further elaborates on the plot, which involves the citizens of Mega-City One falling victim to a plague which involves addiction to the reality-altering drug Slo-Mo – which makes everything appear far slower than it is.

Dredd is called upon to save the day, but the trailer suggests that he will face a formidable enemy in the form of Lena Headey’s Ma-Ma, who supplies citizens with the drug.

Up-and-coming actress Olivia Thirlby, meanwhile, has the chance to show off her action movie credentials as Dredd’s sidekick Anderson – while the various slow-motion scenes in the trailer give some idea of what to expect from the special effects.

Lena Headey stars as the villanous Ma-Ma in the futuistic movie (Picture: Lionsgate/YouTube)

The trailer has been well received on Twitter, with users describing the clip as ‘awesome’ and ‘ridiculously good fun’.

The 3D film is set to be released on September 7 and having already been given an R rating in the US for its violence and language, it looks as though this will be a more adult affair than this year’s other comic book offerings, such as Avengers Assemble, The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises.

And director Pete Travis will no doubt be hoping that his take on the 2000AD character – whose adventures have featured in the comic since 1977 – will be more successful than the previous 1995 Judge Dredd movie.

That film, which starred Sylvester Stallone as the title character, was panned by critics and made less than $35million at the US box office – while it also earned Stallone a Razzie nomination for Worst Actor.